While this 1979 Ford Mustang Indianapolis 500 Pace Car replica for sale on Hemmings.com has benefited from a full restoration, inside and out, under and over, it hasn’t been turned into a trailer queen. Rather, the seller has put some miles on it since its restoration and at the same time kept it in near-pristine condition, judging from the photos. From the seller’s description:

I had the car professionally restored in 2002. It is the original 302 V8 Engine. It was completely rebuilt and the cylinder walls bored out 30 thousandths. The heads and valves were done then, too. The automatic transmission is the original. It does not leak. A new rack and pinion was installed during the restoration. The differential was rebuilt, too.

It was repainted when I restored it using the original paint color from 1979. I had the moon roof resealed when restored. It did not show any signs of leaking but I wanted to be sure it did not develop any. New seals on all the doors and windows when restored. A new stripe and decal kit applied after painting.

I located the original black and white zig-zag patterned upholstery fabric in Speedway Indiana and had the interior professionally redone. It is one of the few that you will find with the original pattern. There aren’t any tears anywhere. New carpets and new headliner. The rear window defroster still works too.

The VIN indicates the car was built in California and made its way to OKC where I found it. No signs of salt damage from northern or seashore exposure. This Mustang Pace Car is one of 2,106 1979 Mustangs produced with the carbureated 5.0 V-8 and an automatic transmission.

This car is an award winner at all the local shows as well as regional events such as the “Annual Fort Worth Rod and Custom Show.” We drive it regularly and it does have some rock dings in the front. The Paint scheme, Decals and Stripes are specific to the 1979 Pace Car. The engine and transmission are numbers matching!

The a/c compressor stopped working this spring and will need to be replaced. Other than that it is a very solid car. I have a few spare parts that will go with the car. I have a set of front fenders, a grill assembly and a set of FOMOCO plug wires.

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Patrick Curransays:

July 16, 2015 9:45 am

I always liked the looks of this car and the graphics were tastefully done compared to some other pace cars over the years. The price seems very reasonable even if the A/C needs attention. There isn’t much uniqueness for $10K out there that is as appealing as this car.

Bruce T.says:

July 16, 2015 10:04 am

Danny Plotkinsays:

July 16, 2015 10:07 am

I was 13 when the ’74 Mustang II was introduced and even at that tender age I knew something was rotten in Denmark, ‘er, Dearborn). The big plastic bumpers foretold of the softening age to come and the transmission hump as high as a termite mound gave it away as the swollen Pinto it was.

In 79 I was headed to College, but I was smart enough to realize that the Fox bodied Mustang was an enormous improvement, one that ushered in the initial parting of the clouds that hung over the domestic auto industry since 1971.

The Fox chassis though intended to serve much as did the falcon as the platform for multiple inexpensive cars was nevertheless an advanced, lightweight design and lasted longer in the marketplace if not on the road.

the 79 Mustang was a neatly designed and built car that was in my estimation better than anything Chrysler or GM was screwing together at the time.

Watch out for those Duraspark ignition boxes. I remember we used to keep a spare in the trunk.

Stoneysays:

July 16, 2015 10:27 am

Thanks Danny, you got a laugh out of me this morning ‘lasted longer in the marketplace than on the road,” oh the rattles and road noise! When I was in the service I got a call from our Commanding Officer’s secretary to check on his staff car. He was complaining about a rattle from under the dash of his mighty Ford Fairmont. Well that was a fool’s errand, but I tried. Unable to ‘repeat the malfunction,’ I brought it back to the secretary. When she asked if I had ‘found the General’s rattle’ I said ‘no but I could go out and buy him one if you like.” Only to turn around to find the General standing behind me! He was not amused.

Jeff Cooksays:

July 16, 2015 8:46 pm

It’s been my experience that the original Duraspark boxes were far more reliable than any of the aftermarket replacements. Unfortunately, the original boxes usually got replaced because something else was wrong, thus perpetuating the myth.

I’ve put hundreds of thousands of miles on Duraspark-equipped Foxen, and have yet to have a single Motorcraft module fail.

John Bsays:

July 16, 2015 10:43 am

Nice looking car, and the price is fair. These cars looked cool, even though they were slow (GT model improved that in 82). I think a 5 speed is better, but nothing wrong with the Ford AOD. This is much better than the turbo 4 cylinder which was used in some of the 1979 Mustang pace cars. Overall, great looking car at an affordable price. I like it.

Mattsays:

July 16, 2015 11:24 am

The ad doesn’t say what sort of shape the tires are in but buyers of this gen of Fox body Mustangs should be aware while the TRX wheels look cool if a bit dated, replacement tires can be a headache. I believe they were 220/55/390s (could have been 190s too I think) which aren’t the 14, 15, or 16 inch tires folks are accustomed to. They’re about 15.3 inches and the Michelin TRX tires are the only thing that will fit unless you find a very old set of Goodyear NCTs. TRX rubber is expensive and hard to locate these days. Even the Tire Rack says once they sell what they have they will likely not be restocked. The alternative is to go with later Mustang 15 or 16 inch wheels but you lose the era correct look.

Jason Herringsays:

July 16, 2015 12:19 pm

Thought I read somewhere that Michelin STILL makes the TRX metric tire, so I just checked the internet, and discovered that ‘Michelin Classic’ still sells the TRX…AND that Coker Tire purchased the molds, and has the TRX in FOURTEEN different sizes! It appears that many Ferraris and BMWs ran TRXs back in the day, and some Citroens and other varied European cars.
(Coker’s website does say, however, “Quantities are limited and current stock on hand may be available throughout 2014, but future production is not guaranteed.”)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_TRX

John Bsays:

July 16, 2015 12:43 pm

TRX metric tires were a hassle even back in the 80’s. A friend had a 1981 Capri with those wheels back in the day. We lived in SD and he needed snow tires. I told him they would be hard to find for those wheels. He laughed at me and said I did not know what I was talking about. Then he went to the tire store……….

July 16, 2015 2:52 pm

Howard Arbituresays:

July 16, 2015 3:02 pm

Hi Matt, thanks for bringing up the tire snafu. I’ve told this story before, but when I had my ’88, 5.0 Mustang, I wanted to get some nice wheels for it. I found some at a swap meet, that seemed to measure 15″, and the guy swore they were 15’s. So I got 4 decent tires also and took my treasures home, blissfully unaware of the 15.3 size. When mounting time came, the local garage tried the 1st one, the bar wouldn’t go all the way around. We kind of persuaded the bar a little, got them on the rim, but it wouldn’t seal on the rim. Tried another one, same thing, only this time, we ruined the tire. A quick call to the local Ford dealer confirmed, I had the wrong tires. I took my “treasures” home, and proceeded to smash the wheels with a sledge hammer, so no one else would make that mistake.

Mattsays:

July 16, 2015 6:40 pm

In a way you got lucky. I was managing a tire store in that era. The TRX tires were a pain the rear to mount and dismount as it was. One of my tire mounters (our affectionate nickname for the guys in the back shop was “the Mutants”) grabbed the wrong tires from the line and managed to coerce a 15 inch tire onto a 15.3 inch rim. When he went to set the bead and inflate it the sidewall failed with a sound like a bomb going off. He hadn’t screwed the cone onto the inflation station and that thing flew high enough to take out the protective screening around the exhaust fan just below the roof. Had he been leaning over it he likely would have been killed. Same deals with some early 70s trucks. They came with 16 inch wheels at all four corners but for reasons known only to GM a 16.5 inch spare. A customer would by four new tires and ask to have the best of the four being replaced moved to the spare. KAH-BOOM! Any of you lucky enough to own or have use of one of those old style tire machines, always screw down the safety cone before inflating a tire.

Larry Youngsays:

July 16, 2015 8:11 pm

autobug2says:

July 16, 2015 11:27 am

We unfortunately had no choice but accept these when they came out; not the Fox platform’s finest hour by any means. You either got the enemic 2.3L four, or you popped for the optional 5.0L V8. Luckily, as time went on, the car got better, including the 5.0L block.

Gary Lalimsays:

July 16, 2015 11:59 am

Phil Rsays:

July 16, 2015 12:17 pm

I had a ’79 Pace Car with the 4-cyl turbo for many years and it made the trip with us from PA to AZ. The 2.3L with carburetion and the turbo was a dog compared to the V8, but the fun was getting the timing right on flooring it on your way into a corner so after the turbo lag you got the kick in the pants at just the right time on exit. It was amazing how big of a cloud it pushed out the back when the turbo blew its oil line seal. Good looking and fun car that you don’t come across very often anymore.

Seansays:

July 16, 2015 12:22 pm

JimMcsays:

July 16, 2015 12:28 pm

Certainly not breathtakingly powerful, even with the 302, I’ve always thought that 1979 as the beginning of a new era of greatness for the Mustang. The Fox body is still one of my favorites since it was so light weight and responsive. Correct me if I’m wrong but the 302 here was still the 140 horse carryover from the Mustang II.
The Mustang II may have a lot of critics, but when taken for what it was and what it represented at the time, it was a far better car than it is given credit for. The early Fox’s, with the weak 255 V8 were much worse and way slower.

JimMcsays:

July 16, 2015 12:48 pm

The only detraction to this car for me is the houndstooth upholstery. I realize it’s a rare option, but as a driver, it bothers my eyes to look at it. That’s just a personal thing that can easily be covered up with seat covers.

Mattsays:

July 16, 2015 2:18 pm

One other thing I noticed on this car is kind of hard to see. Look down and to the left of the radio and you can see a knurled knob, part of Ford’s “Premium Sound” package. Pull that knob down and it kicks in the amplifiers. It really did make a huge difference in the volume. Below the radio on the driver’s side of the console there’s a pictogram of the car with little red lights that illuminated to let you know that you had a head light, brake light etc. out or low windshield washer fluid level. It kind of geeks me out to think that in the coming decade these cars will be restored and some tecnician is going to be tearing his hair out trying to get the picto-gram warning working again and people will be arguing over the correct color of red for the warning indicators at concours events.

J Franksays:

July 16, 2015 3:57 pm

That brought a laugh to my day! 1979 electronics are not the same standard as in use today. You are spot on about the future tech going nuts trying to get the picto-gram working correctly, and the owner (and future judges) obsessing over it. That is one of the things that I find hilarious…nitpicking over things just to nitpick. I can hear the conversation now: “No, the indicator lights glowed a fiery red, this is too orange. Can’t you find the factory diode? And while you are at it, can you refurbish the LCD display for the clock? And why is the E/T not showing a correct elapsed time? “

Mattsays:

July 16, 2015 6:33 pm

My 82 5.0 still had that picto-gram and clock. And yeah, I tried timing my quarter mile with the ET button. It didn’t work. Prior to 82 Ford probably could have put a sundial on the dash to measure quarter mile times for the Mustang.

Patrick Curransays:

July 17, 2015 6:04 am

Joesays:

July 16, 2015 10:58 pm

This model-year made me proud of Mustangs again. This car is really well done, though I would not own any vehicle that had “Pace Car” on it without getting royalties from the Speedway. That speaks to my taste in sleepers. now a ’79 in black with a red interior…yowza.

Guardstangsays:

July 17, 2015 5:29 pm

You see a lot of 79 Pace Cars that were kept in nice condition at Mustang shows I like the look of the Cobra without the Pace Car’s under bumper spoiler–of course in 1980 the Cobra got all the Pace Car body panels but the biggest V8 was a 255cid smogger.

johnsays:

July 18, 2015 9:12 pm

PJ Steinsays:

July 19, 2015 12:39 am

I test drove 8 different Pace cars before finding a 302/4 speed that was tight. 2hours after delivery we added hooker hedders, thrush side pipes, electric cooling fan, Marine cam, Holley 600cfm and intake. When it went in the next Monday for the 1500 mile check up the dealer went nuts. But it did run like hell. Now if Zoom could have built the clutches faster……

Bill Maschinotsays:

June 13, 2016 5:40 pm

Can someone tell me about the the air cleaner. It is my thought that the stock V8 did not have the dual snorkel. It only had the single snorkel on the passenger side of the cleaner. Can anyone confirm or elaborate. Was this an additional option?